Conveyorized system for rebuilding tread and disc brake actuator units for use in railway cars

Abstract

A conveyorized system and method of use therefor for disassembling, inspecting, reconditioning and testing a brake actuator is disclosed. The disassembly area includes a spring removal fixture and a torque removal fixture. The conveyor system includes multi-level conveyor portions to eliminate the need for operators to lift awkward, heavy components. The test area includes a fixture adapted to pressure test and leak test a reconditioned brake actuator and to test for slack adjuster travel. The disclosed conveyor system is specially adapted to disassemble, inspect, recondition and test air brake actuators for trains, such as disc actuators and tread actuators.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A conveyorized system for disassembling, inspecting and rebuilding brake activator units used on railway cars, comprising: a. a disassembly station including a series of predetermined disassembly tools which are worker operated to disassemble a said unit into component parts;   b. an inspection station including a series of predetermined inspection tools which are worker operated to inspect predetermined parameters on selected ones of said components;   c. a repair station including a series of predetermined repair tools to repair said predetermined ones of said components;   d. an assembly station including a series of predetermined assembly tools to reassemble said unit with said inspected and repaired and/or replaced components; and   e. multilevel conveyors between at least selected ones of said stations for conveyance of said component parts therebetween,   wherein each station includes first and second sub-areas respectively containing separate sets of said predetermined tools to respectively enable the disassembly, inspection, and reassembly of tread brake activator units and disc brake activator units in the respective sub-areas as separate capabilities of the stations, wherein the multilevel conveyors are used to convey the component parts separately within the connected ones of the first sub-areas and the second sub-areas of the respective stations, said conveyors thereby including separate conveyor lines associated with the respective sub-areas.   
     
     
       2. The conveyorized system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of vertically moveable surfaces for transferring components between selected ones of said stations and an in-feed location of one of said conveyors associated therewith. 
     
     
       3. The conveyorized system of claim 1, further comprising basket means receiving selected ones of said components for placement on, and conveyance along, an associated one of said conveyors to the next station. 
     
     
       4. The conveyorized system of claim 1, further comprising a washer, located between the disassembly station and the inspection station, to which disassembled brake and tread components are conveyorized for washing. 
     
     
       5. The conveyorized system of claim 4, further comprising separate tread and disc brake conveyors extending from the disassembly station and being merged into at least one conveyor extending through the washer. 
     
     
       6. The conveyorized system of claim 5, wherein said one conveyor includes means for transferring tread and disc components from said one conveyor onto separate conveyors extending in the inspection station. 
     
     
       7. The conveyorized system of claim 1, further comprising a brake test fixture including a test bench having a mounting section to which the assembled brake activator unit is mounted, and control means for supplying pressurized air to said assembled unit and determining whether air pressure leakage occurs in the reassembled unit under a predetermined test pressure condition. 
     
     
       8. The conveyorized system of claim 1, wherein at least two components of a unit to be disassembled are threaded together and the threads of the components of the unit being disassembled are secured together by at least partial welding and/or adhesive material, one of said predetermined disassembly tools including: (i) a clamp arranged to clamp one of said at least two components to secure the same against rotation; and   (ii) a motor including an output shaft having means for connection to the other of said at least two components, whereby rotation of said shaft by said motor is operable to generate predetermined sufficient torque to unthread the components from each other.   
     
     
       9. The conveyorized system of claim 8, wherein said connection means includes a keyway interacting with said other component to interlock therewith and thereby impart rotative force from the motor through the shaft. 
     
     
       10. A conveyorized system for disassembling, inspecting and rebuilding brake activator units used on railway cars, comprising: a. a disassembly station including a series of predetermined disassembly tools which are worker operated to disassemble a said unit into component parts;   b. an inspection station including a series of predetermined inspection tools which are worker operated to inspect predetermined parameters on selected ones of said components;   c. a repair station including a series of predetermined repair tools to repair said predetermined ones of said components;   d. an assembly station including a series of predetermined assembly tools to reassemble said unit with said inspected and repaired and/or replaced components; and   e. conveyors between at least selected ones of said stations for conveyance of said component parts therebetween,   wherein said brake activator units include spring biased components, said disassembly station including means for manipulating a spring in said unit to remove spring force from a fastener in said unit to facilitate removal of the fastener and thereby the spring and selected ones of said components from the unit held together between the spring and fastener.   
     
     
       11. The conveyorized system of claim 10, wherein said manipulating means includes a cylinder operated plunger arranged to compress the spring. 
     
     
       12. A production line assembly for disassembling, inspecting and rebuilding brake activator units used on railway cars, comprising: (a) a disassembly station including a series of predetermined disassembly tools which are user operated to disassemble a said unit into component parts;   (b) an inspection station including a series of predetermined inspection tools which are user operated to inspect predetermined parameters on selected ones of said components;   (c) a repair station including a series of predetermined repair tools to repair said predetermined ones of said components;   (d) an assembly station including a series of predetermined assembly tools to reassemble said unit with said inspected and repaired and/or replaced components; and   wherein said stations include first and second sub-areas respectively containing separate sets of said predetermined tools to enable the disassembly, inspection, and reassembly of tread brake activator units and disc brake activator units in the respective sub-areas.   
     
     
       13. The production line of claim 12, further comprising multi-level conveyors between at least selected ones of said stations for conveyance of said component parts therebetween.